Family swaps the humdrum for life on road
Print Edition
While most parents are fussing about extracurricular classes to broaden their children’s horizons, one couple have chosen to take their daughter on a round-the-world tour in a customized station wagon.
When Xinhua reporters came across Ma Hui and Xu Guangda in Kashgar Old Town in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region last month, they were preparing to go to bed in the car, while their 4-year-old daughter Nuo Nuo played outside with some local Uygur kids.
Nuo Nuo has so far traveled more than 40,000 kilometers in the vehicle. Cheerful and outgoing, she is quick to make friends wherever she goes.
“Even the best education is no substitute for traveling, experiencing nature and increasing your first-hand knowledge,” Xu said.
Xu and Ma had stable government jobs before they decided to quit in 2013. They sold everything, bought the station wagon and started driving. The vehicle is clean and well-equipped. They can cook, wash up, sleep and even take a shower in it.
They said they plan to spend eight months traveling each year. They take photos and share their experiences via the Internet, welcoming friends to join them on their trips.
“Our vehicle can accommodate four adults and two kids so we can only really invite two people at a time to join us.” Ma said.
The decision to travel around the world was no momentary impulse. The couple made up their minds three years before resigning. They opened an online shop selling women’s and children’s clothes, and developed an app to help new parents teach their children nursery rhymes.
Going places
Chinese people are experimenting with what are, for them, new ways to travel during their holidays. Rather than joining traditional package tours, more and more are going places under their own steam.
“You have to have some courage to change your life,” Ma said.
“Having a house, a car and decent jobs sounds good, but imagine what your life will be like in decades to come. To realize our dreams, we were willing to give up all we had.”
They first went abroad in January and have since been to Laos, Thailand and Malaysia. In September, they drove to Xinjiang and went to Tibet via the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway.
Ma bought a national flag for Nuo Nuo and when she makes new friends, she invites them to sign their names on it.
“She has friends from across China, and Southeast Asia,” Ma said.
“We meet different people, enjoy their smiles and learn their stories,” Ma said.
“We find that those permanent assets and daily hassles that we used to worry about are unnecessary and insignificant.”
The family is currently having a break from the traveling life in Suzhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province.
Next stop? “France,” Ma said.
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